Psalms 147:13
in Psalms 147For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; He hath blessed thy children within thee.
KJV
For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.
⋯
This verse in Psalms 147
Commentary
11 notes on this verseFor he has strengthened the bars of your gates. Is it, then, of this Jerusalem that he speaks? Of this Zion? Praise your God. Why? For he has strengthened the bars of your gates. There are no gates: and how, then, are the bars kept safe? He has blessed your children within you. How has he blessed, he who said, Your house shall be left to you desolate? For he has strengthened the bars of your gates. The Lord loves the gates of Zion above all the tabernacles of Jacob. We said the gates of Zion are the prophets.
This site's exposition
Exalt the LORD, O Jerusalem
on Psalms 147:12-14
Jerusalem is addressed, and four gifts follow. The LORD strengthens her gate bars, blesses the children inside her, makes peace at her borders, and fills her with the finest wheat. John Wesley reads the bars as God's protection behind the walls, and the border peace as peace over the land.
This site's exposition
He strengthens the bars of your gates
Adam Clarke read the psalm as moving from walls still rising in verse 2 to walls finished here, with the gates set up and barred. Augustine observed that bars are strengthened on shut gates. Charles Spurgeon paired the two halves as safety outside and blessing within.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
He saith, "He hath made strong the bars of thy gates." The making bars strong is not for open gates, but shut ones, wherefore most manuscripts read, "He hath made strong the bolts of thy gates." Observe, beloved. He biddeth Jerusalem when closed in to praise the Lord. We praise in unison now, we praise now; but it is amid offences. Many where we wish not, enter in: many though we wish it not, go out: therefore offences are frequent. "And because iniquity hath abounded," saith the Truth, "the love of many waxeth cold:" because men come in whom we cannot discern, because men go out whom we cannot retain. Wherefore is this? Because not yet is there perfection, not yet is there the bliss that shall be. Wherefore is this? Because as yet it is the threshing-floor, not yet the garner. What therefore will be then, save no fear that aught of this kind will happen? He said not only, He hath set, but, "He hath made strong the bars of thy gates." Let none go out, let none come in. Let none go out, we rejoice: let none come in, we fear. Nay, fear not this: when thou hast entered it will be said: only be thou in the number of virgins, who carried their oil with them....
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
If there be trouble any where, it is in the borders, the marches of a country; the frontier-towns lie most exposed, so that, if there be peace in the borders, there is a universal peace, a mercy we can never be sufficiently thankful for.
) may well enough be applied to the first building and fortifying of Jerusalem in his time, and the gathering in of those that had been out-casts in Saul's time. The Septuagint divides it into two; and we may divide it into the first and second part, but both of the same import. We are called upon to praise God,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates,.... Of Jerusalem, of Zion the church of God.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates. Her fortifications were finished, even to the fastenings of the gates, and God had made all sound and strong, even to her bolts and bars: thus her security against invading foes was guaranteed. This is no small mercy. Oh, that our churches were thus preserved from all false doctrine and unholy living! This must be the Lord's doing; and where he has wrought it his name is greatly to be praised.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates. Her fortifications were finished, even to the fastenings of the gates, and God had made all sound and strong, even to her bolts and bars: thus her security against invading foes was guaranteed. This is no small mercy. Oh, that our churches were thus preserved from all false doctrine and unholy living! This must be the Lord's doing; and where he has wrought it his name is greatly to be praised. Modern libertines would tear down all gates and abolish all bars; but so do not we, because of the fear of the Lord. He hath blessed thy children within thee. Internal happiness is as truly the Lord's gift as external security. When the Lord blesses "thy sons in the midst of thee", thou art, O Zion, filled with a happy, united, zealous, prosperous, holy people, who dwell in communion with God, and enter into the joy of their Lord. When God makes thy walls salvation thy gates must be praise. It would little avail to fortify a wretched, starving city; but when the walls are strengthened, it is a still greater joy to see that the inhabitants are blessed with all good gifts. How much our churches need a present and abiding benediction.
He hath strengthened the bars of thy gates - He has enabled thee to complete the walls of Jerusalem. From the former part of the Psalm it appears the walls were then to progress; from this part, they appear to be completed, and provisions to be brought into the city, to support its inhabitants. The gates were set up and well secured by bars, so that the grain, etc., was in safety.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates - He has made thee safe and secure - as if he had given additional strength to the fastenings of the gates of the city. Cities were surrounded by walls. They were entered through gates. Those gates were fastened by bars passed across them, to which the gates were secured. The language here might be applicable to any period, but it is probable that there is particular reference to Jerusalem as made strong in rebuilding it after the return from Babylon. He hath blessed thy children within thee - The inhabitants, by giving them safety and peace.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
the best of the wheat Heb. חלב, lit. fat. The best, fat wheat kernels.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| חִ֭זַּק | chizak | he has strengthened | H2388 → | 291 times |
| בְּרִיחֵ֣י | berichei | [the] bars of | H1280 → | |
| שְׁעָרָ֑יִךְ | shearayikh | gates your | H8179 → | 374 times |
| בֵּרַ֖ךְ | berakh | he has blessed | H1288 → | 330 times |
| בָּנַ֣יִךְ | banayikh | children your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בְּקִרְבֵּֽךְ׃ | bekirbekh | in midst your | H7130 → | 227 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
חִ֭זַּקhe has strengthened
chizakH2388 →291 times
בְּרִיחֵ֣י[the] bars of
bericheiH1280 →
שְׁעָרָ֑יִךְgates your
shearayikhH8179 →374 times
בֵּרַ֖ךְhe has blessed
berakhH1288 →330 times
בָּנַ֣יִךְchildren your
banayikhH1121 →4930 times
בְּקִרְבֵּֽךְ׃in midst your
bekirbekhH7130 →227 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 144:12Then our sons will be like plants nurtured in their youth, our daughters like corner pillars carved to adorn a palace.
it leads to
- Psalms 128:3
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.
- 1 Peter 3:3–6
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes,
- Isaiah 44:3–5
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
- Psalms 115:14–15
May the LORD give you increase, both you and your children.
- Job 42:15
No women as beautiful as Job’s daughters could be found in all the land, and their father granted them an inheritance among their brothers.
- Psalms 128:3
Where this verse is studied
About Psalms
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 147; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Jerome, Homily 57, on Psalm 147; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.